A representative spectrum of faculty are participating in this art blog to create an ongoing educational experience. Working in various
styles and media, the artists will share their latest pieces of artwork as well as their thoughts about the creative process.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Michael Chesley Johnson - Rain in Sedona

The day before, we had rain, which is an uncommon but welcome event in this dry country. Needless to say, we painted from indoors, but looking out at the view.

I chose pastel to do two small sketches. I was interested more in color and value than anything else. I worked especially on the cool reds and greens in the distant hills and the relationship to the warmer foreground greens. For the distant hills, I chose two pastels of the same value - a rather vivid red-violet and a blue-green. After blocking in the hills, I layered the complement of each over them to neutralize the rich color somewhat. I also used a bit of "real" grey to cool them down further.

For both of these pieces, I used the "Belgian Mist" color of the Wallis Sanded Pastel Paper plus the hard Polychromos pastels. Having the paper already toned a warm grey helped warm up and harmonize the cool, sometimes discordant colors I used in the underpainting.

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About this Blog

Welcome to the Sedona Arts Center's Faculty Blog. All artwork on the blog can be purchased directly through the artists.Follow links to the artists websites and view the archives on this blog to see more work. Participating artists offer classes or workshops through the Sedona Arts Center. Over 50 workshops are offered each year. Questions or comments can be emailed to Vince Fazio, Director of the School of Art, workshops@sedonaartscenter.com.